India hotels demand growth intact, says Jefferies

Chalet Hotels

09/06/2023 06:53

** Jefferies says demand growth levers intact for Indian
hotels as supply likely to lag demand growth and occupancy
outlook continues to be positive 
    ** Indian Hotels Co  IHTL.NS , EIH  EIHO.NS , Chalet Hotels
 CHAL.NS  and Lemon Tree  LEMO.NS  have surged in past 2 yrs on
post-Covid rebound
    ** And YTD, IHTL up ~21%, EIHO ~19%, CHAL ~26% and LEMO ~8%,
with Jefferies noting robust Q4 average room rate (ARR) growth
    ** Jefferies expects ARR to continue rising in FY24, with
likely return of foreign travelers a key driver
    ** Says the seasonal decline in H1 FY24 will have "reduced
negative impact compared to previous years"
    ** Jefferies rates IHTL "buy"; does not cover the others
    ** IHTL has rocketed ~172% over 2021-2022, while EIHO, CHAL
and LEMO have surged between 94% and 109%

 (Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru)
 ((Hritam.Mukherjee@thomsonreuters.com;))